History NightmareFuel / Mother

* The first playable minutes of the game have an oddly sinister feel to them: you're a child sitting in the middle of a sparsely decorated room (with a background track halfway between familiar and nostalgic), when suddenly a lamp tries to kill you, and you must save your sisters (who also have weirdly minimalistic rooms) from another lamp and a creepy doll. It's likely unintentional, but the game's beginning resembles what a modern player might expect out of a (tame) creepy pasta.

* In the Lost Underworld, Ego Orbs can be this, especially on first sight. They move really fast, much faster than [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs the Chomposaur or Wetnosaur]]. Like most enemies, they can also detect you if they're even partially on-screen, catching careless players off guard, [[JumpScare as well as giving them a nasty surprise]]. Lastly, there's their faces, which easily fall into UncannyValley territory and make them suddenly darting toward your position from off-screen all the startling. I mean, how are you supposed to react when [[https://wikibound.info/wiki/File:EgoOrb.gif THIS]] makes a beeline for you?

** Think of it this way- Even after Ness and co. have fought powerful monsters, grown stronger, and even after Ness [[spoiler: defeated his inner evil and got that massive level-up]], this abomination is so horrifically powerful that all they can do is [[spoiler: ''pray for help'']]. Try and tell me that isn't a terrifying thought.

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** Think of it this way- Even after Ness and co. have fought powerful monsters, grown stronger, and even after Ness [[spoiler: defeated his inner evil and got that massive level-up]], this abomination is so horrifically powerful that all they can do is [[spoiler: ''pray for help'']]. Try and tell me that isn't a terrifying thought.

* Don't forget when Giygas says "...It hurts, ...it hurts... Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness..." You know that horrific EldritchAbomination, the one that is so powerful that its mind has collapsed and it's basically a mindless force of insane, chaotic destruction? Well, ''it knows Ness' name.''* When we find out Brickroad becomes [[BodyHorror Dungeon Man]]. What's worse is that we go '''inside''' Dungeon Man and find out Dr. Andonuts is responsible for making him this way. To say that's disturbing is an understatement.** The nightmare fuel is eased up with the fact that Dungeon Man wanted this to begin with and he's quite happy the way he is. And he can pretty much stomp any enemy outside.

* While not nearly as famous as the one in the sequel, the final battle against Giygas is actually pretty terrifying when placed into an appropriate context. If you were playing as a child in 1989, this was probably the very first video game battle you'd experience where everything you thought you knew about playing games [[OutsideTheBoxTactic doesn't help you]]. You can try and try with all your might, using all the amazing powers you'd earned during your adventure, but no matter how hard you try, he will just continue mocking your ineptitude, telling you your only options are to give up or die. Coupled with the white-on-black contrast of his sprite, the ear-bleeding eeriness of his [[DroneOfDread "music"]], and the fact that there's a good chance you're in a dark room, for the NES, that was some pretty unnerving stuff.

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* While not nearly as famous as the one in the sequel, the final battle against Giygas is actually pretty terrifying when placed into an appropriate context. If you were playing as a child in 1989, this was probably the very first video game battle you'd experience where everything you thought you knew about playing games [[OutsideTheBoxTactic doesn't help you]]. You can try and try with all your might, using all the amazing powers you'd earned during your adventure, but no matter how hard you try, he will just continue mocking your ineptitude, telling you your only options are to give up or die. Coupled with the white-on-black contrast of his sprite, the ear-bleeding eeriness of his [[DroneOfDread "music"]], and the fact that there's a good chance you're in a dark room, for the NES, that was some pretty unnerving stuff.

stuff. And as seen below, it gets FromBadToWorse for both the player [[SanitySlippage and]] [[WasOnceAMan Giygas]].

** In the last section of the Restroom Level, knock on the right-most men's room door and you'll hear an all-too-familiar Ba-DEET! noise. Knocking on it again will result in something banging the door from the inside. Go inside the room and you'll see the Chimera, inches away from you, [[NightmareRetardant on a toilet.]]

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** In the last section of the Empire Porky Building's Restroom Level, knock on the right-most men's room door and you'll hear an all-too-familiar Ba-DEET! noise. Knocking on it again will result in something banging the door from the inside. Go inside the room and you'll see the Chimera, inches away from you, [[NightmareRetardant on a toilet.]]

** In Bathroom Dungeon, get near one of the doors to the women's restroom and hear an all-too-familiar Ba-DEET! noise. Go inside the room and see the Chimera, inches away from you, [[NightmareRetardant on a toilet.]]

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** In Bathroom Dungeon, get near one the last section of the doors to Restroom Level, knock on the women's restroom right-most men's room door and you'll hear an all-too-familiar Ba-DEET! noise. Knocking on it again will result in something banging the door from the inside. Go inside the room and you'll see the Chimera, inches away from you, [[NightmareRetardant on a toilet.]]

** During the trip, the party can enter an incredibly inviting looking hot spring... but when they enter it, Boney, the only one who ''didn't'' eat the mushrooms, will stand outside of the spring and whimper. Come back when the trip's over, and the reason Boney refused to enter is because it was a... toxic waste dump. ** The script for this was rewritten, because the original terrified its creator... So if you thought this was horrifying, [[FridgeHorror imagine what the original script could have been!]]

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** During the trip, the party can enter an incredibly inviting looking hot spring... but when they enter it, Boney, the only one who ''didn't'' eat the mushrooms, will stand outside of the spring and whimper. Come back when the trip's over, and the reason Boney refused to enter is because it was a... toxic a [[spoiler:toxic waste dump.dump]].** The script for this was rewritten, because the original terrified its creator... creator… So if you thought this was horrifying, [[FridgeHorror imagine what the original script could have been!]]

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